Employee Benefits Open Enrollment: 2027 Guide for HR

Employee benefits open enrollment season is here. In the coming weeks, your employees will choose the benefits they will use for the next year. HR teams that prepare early have time to review plans, update documents, and answer questions before the window opens.

This guide helps HR teams get ready for employee benefits open enrollment for 2027 coverage. It gives the key dates, the new IRS limits, a timeline you can follow, and a clear way to track employee benefits open enrollment. It also explains how open enrollment works with Deel.

What is employee benefits open enrollment?

Employee benefits open enrollment is the yearly period when employees review, choose, or change their workplace benefits for the next plan year. Benefits include health insurance, retirement plans, and flexible spending accounts. Employers set the dates. Most employers hold the window for two to four weeks.

HR teams often use this time to review costs, providers, and employee feedback. Need a plan to follow? Get the free employee benefits renewal checklist.

What are the 2027 open enrollment dates?

Employer plans have no set date. Most employers match the public marketplace dates. HealthCare.gov lists these dates:

1. November 1: Open enrollment starts.

2. December 15: Last day to enroll or change plans for coverage that starts January 1.

3. January 15: Open enrollment ends. Coverage for sign-ups from December 16 starts February 1.

Some state exchanges use different dates.

What happens if an employee misses open enrollment?

The employee must wait until the next window. A qualifying life event is the only exception. Examples include a marriage, a birth or adoption, a move to a new ZIP code, or the loss of other coverage.

What does ERISA require?

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) requires plan administrators to give employees key plan documents, such as a summary plan description. The ACA also requires a Summary of Benefits and Coverage. Missing these notices can lead to penalties. Ask your legal team which notices apply to your plans.

What changes for 2027 open enrollment?

For 2027, the IRS raised the HSA limit to $4,500 for self-only coverage and $9,000 for family coverage. The ACA affordability percentage rises to 10.22%. HDHP minimum deductibles increase to $1,750 and $3,500. Employers should update plan documents and employee communications before open enrollment starts.

The IRS set the HSA and HDHP figures in Rev. Proc. 2026-24 and the affordability percentage in Rev. Proc. 2026-26.

The IRS normally publishes the 2027 healthcare FSA and 401(k) limits in the fourth quarter. Check IRS.gov before you finalize your plan guides. Also, a direct primary care arrangement no longer blocks HSA eligibility if monthly fees stay at or below $150 for one person or $300 for more than one.

What this means for HR teams:

• Update HDHP plan documents with the new deductible and out-of-pocket figures.

• Check that your lowest-cost plan still meets the 10.22% affordability test.

• Tell employees the new HSA limits before they choose contribution amounts.

Types of employee benefits to review

For each benefit, ask if it still fits your team and your budget.

• Health insurance: Check your plan types: PPO (flexible, higher premiums), HMO (network only, lower premiums), EPO (network only, no referral), and HDHP (high deductible, low premium). Compare each provider's costs, coverage, and service.

• Dental and vision: No federal law requires them. They show your team that you care about daily needs.

• Life and disability: No federal law requires them. Life insurance can be term, whole, universal, or variable. Disability insurance can be short-term or long-term.

• HSAs and FSAs: Both use pre-tax contributions for medical costs. An FSA has a lower limit, and most of the balance is lost at year-end unless the plan allows a limited carryover. An HSA rolls over each year. It needs an HSA-eligible HDHP. If you offer only one, pick the one that fits your team best.

• Retirement plans: No federal law requires one, but about two-thirds of US workers have access to one (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024). Review your 401(k) match and vesting schedule. A higher match can raise participation. You can also look at employee stock ownership plans.

• Voluntary benefits: One perk may go unused while employees ask for another. Options include gym memberships, mental health counseling, student loan help, childcare support, and identity theft protection. Ask employees what they want in a short anonymous survey, such as Deel's pulse surveys.

Want help with plan design? See how Deel's PEO services can support your US team.

How to prepare for employee benefits open enrollment

Start a few months before your renewal date and work backward. Audit your benefits, compare provider proposals, check compliance, update plan documents, announce the window, and approve elections. Following this order gives you time to fix problems before employees see them.

1. Set your dates: Pick your renewal date and work backward. Use our renewal checklist.

2. Audit your benefits: Review enrollment, claims, costs, and employee feedback. Too many plans confuse employees.

3. Request provider proposals: Compare renewal terms with one other offer. See current benefits trends. Planning to switch PEOs? Read our guide to leaving a PEO.

4. Check compliance and 2027 limits: Review the new IRS limits and our guide to ACA compliance. The Global Benefits Tool shows which benefits are required, common, and competitive.

5. Update plan documents: ERISA requires a summary plan description. Read our guide to drafting one.

6. Collect employee data: Confirm dependents, beneficiaries, and life events in one central platform, such as an HRIS.

7. Announce the window: Send an announcement and weekly reminders. With Deel, employees use a self-service portal, and HR only approves their choices.

8. Approve elections and review results (during and after): Fix errors fast, track who has not finished, and compare results with your audit data.

How to track employee benefits open enrollment

To track employee benefits open enrollment, monitor each employee's enrollment status, completion rate, waived coverage, and errors during the window. Use a central report or dashboard, check it daily, and send reminders to employees who have not finished. After the window closes, compare enrollment and cost data with last year.

What should HR track during open enrollment?

• Completion rate: Count employees who finished, started, and have not started.

• Waivers: See who declined coverage and if they have other coverage.

• Errors and exceptions: Find missing dependent data, eligibility issues, and elections that break plan rules.

• Life events: Note changes that happen outside the window.

• Cost and adoption: Compare the plan mix and total cost with last year.

• Days left: Show the deadline in every reminder.

How does open enrollment work with Deel?

Open enrollment with Deel has two stages. First, employers review, change, and confirm their plans for the next year. Then employees choose their benefits from those plans. For 2027 coverage, the employer stage usually starts in October. The employee stage usually starts in November.

Stage 1: Employer open enrollment

Employer open enrollment, also called client open enrollment, is the yearly window when you review, change, and confirm your benefits plans.

• When: For January 1 renewals, it usually starts in October. For other plan years, it is typically 30 days before the new plan year begins. For example, if coverage starts July 1, it takes place in June. Timing can vary with the company's onboarding.

• What Deel does: Deel contacts you before the coverage start date. The message explains how to review the plans for the next year, including any new plans.

• What you do: Review the available plans. Understand the changes that could affect employees. Complete your plan selections and set benefit levels. Decide how much to contribute toward employee and dependent premiums..

Stage 2: Employee open enrollment

Employees get a fixed window, usually three weeks to one month in November, for coverage starting January 1, 2027. Employees must finish their choices in that window. After they submit, they cannot change elections until the next open enrollment or a qualifying life event.

New employees get their own window, which opens when they finish onboarding with Deel. The window typically closes 14 days after the group's effective date. New employees can waive benefits if they have other coverage.

Common questions from employers

• What is a contribution strategy? It is the plan you use to decide how much to pay toward employee and dependent premiums.

• Can I change my choices after I confirm? Contact your Deel representative or the Help Center. Changes are handled case by case.

• Who can answer questions? Use the Help Center, the Deel Communication Center, or your HR Business Partner. You can also book a benefits consultation call.

How does Deel Benefits Admin track open enrollment?

Deel Benefits Admin connects plan setup, enrollment, approvals, and deductions in one governed workflow. It gives HR and Finance these tracking tools:

• Real-time reporting and dashboards: Track enrollment data and trends, costs, adoption, and exceptions in one view. The same dashboards work after the window closes.

• Status notifications: In-platform notifications and emails show the status of each enrollment.

• One admin workflow: Approve or deny life events in one workflow for the whole team.

• Guided enrollment flows: Employees complete open enrollment, new hire onboarding, and life events in guided steps. This helps more employees finish and cuts HR support requests.

• Approvals and audit trail: Role-based permissions, effective dating, and eligibility checks create a clear record.

• Payroll-connected elections: Elections sync to payroll in the right period. In the US, HSA, FSA, and DCFSA elections sync with IRS limits enforced.

You keep your own plans, strategy, and broker. Renewal timelines are set during implementation, so confirm your renewal dates and carrier requirements ahead of time.

Manage open enrollment for your US team with Deel

Open enrollment is easier when benefits, payroll, and HR work together. With Deel, you can hire, pay, manage, and give benefits to your US workforce, and run open enrollment from the same platform.

Deel's benefits tools work with two US setups:

• Deel's PEO: Deel is your co-employer for US employees. Deel manages payroll, tax, HR compliance administration, workers' compensation, and benefits. You get a dedicated HR Business Partner and 24/7 support through chat, email, and Slack. You can offer plans such as Aetna and Kaiser, a 401(k), and voluntary benefits, or keep your current plans or broker.

• Deel Payroll: You run US payroll through your own entity. Deel Benefits Admin runs enrollment, life events, and payroll deductions for the plans you already have.

Andy Cloyd, CEO at Superfiliate, says PEO "not only saves us money but also alleviates our mental load." Read the Superfiliate case study.

Employee benefits open enrollment is a short window with a long effect. A clear timeline, correct 2027 limits, and plain guides help your team choose well. Book a demo to see how Deel can help you run open enrollment for your US team.